Educational device



March 14, 1950 o. w. PHILLIPS 2,500,555

EDUCATIONAL DEVICE Filed July 21, 1945 IN VEN TOR.

` Patented Mar. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES 4PATENT OFFICE EDUCATIONAL DEVICE Ollie W. Phillips, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 21, 1945, Serial No. 606,423

5 Claims.

The present invention relates to educational teaching the nomenclature, appearance and function of machine parts.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a device which will be useful to the student of machine elements and parts, such as the machinist, engineer, draftsman, designer or the like, in learning the names by which such parts and elements are known and in recognizing them by their appearance and in understanding their functions.

A further object is to provide such a device in concrete, three-dimension form which can be handled, felt and viewed from all sides, so that the impressions made by it on the mind and memory of the student will be considerably more vivid and permanent than any effects obtainable by the use of mere pictorial illustrations or written descriptions.

A related object is to provide such a device in a form that will be small and compact, so that it can easily be carried in the pocket, and which will nevertheless be comprehensive in its -capacity to instruct the student in a great variety of different machine parts.

Another object is to make such a device as will show internal shapes and forms, such as those appurtenant to the bore of a mechanical part, and to show them clearly from the outside of the device.

A further object is to provide a device of the character indicated in which parts can be separated from each other to disclose, in the manner of a sectional view in a mechanical drawing, but with all the added force and impressiveness of -a solid, three-dimensional body, the shape and appearance of mechanical parts which are internal and which are consequently in actual practice hidden from view.

A further object is tofprovide such a device with indicia denominating the several parts so that their names may be readily learned and fixed in the students mind by seeing them physically asf sociated with the parts or keyed to them by a system of code designations.

General objects are concerned with making an article of manufacture of the class indicated which will be very inexpensive to produce and which will be attractive in appearance and thoroughly durable.

With these and other objects in view, a preferred embodiment of the invention, which has been found entirely satisfactory in actual practice and which is therefore at present preferredv 2 by me, is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the device;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the two generally similar, separable parts in which the device may be constructed; so that in effect Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view, taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 3, of the assembled parts shown in Figs. 1 and 3; and

Fig. 3 is an end elevationaly View of the assemf' bled parts.

Referring now to the drawing, the device cornprises a solid; rigid body which in the present instance is generally cylindrical in shape, made out of any Isuitable lmaterial which can be cast, molded or machined conveniently. The body is capable of more elciently and completely attaining the objects of the invention if it is made hollow by being provided with an internal bore be# cause in such case the bore can be shaped and configured in the form of internal machine parts. The outer surface of the body, as will be understood from what has been explained hereinabove, is shaped and Vconfigured to simulate external machine parts.

The body may be made of a single, unitary piece of material, but I prefer to form it in two general- 1y. similar halves having matching faces which Iare adapted to be engaged together so that the two halves can be secured to each' other to provide an apparently solid body which can be opened up, by separating the halves, to disclose the internal construction. This preferred embodiment is discl-osed in the drawing.

yWhile the body may be made from any of a large number of suitable materials, I prefer to use one which is transparent, so that the internal features of the construction may bel viewed through the body, from the outside. The present market affords a numberlof thermoplastic and other materials, many of them being artificial resins Iand condensation products, which are suitable for the purpose. A preferred substance, which I have used in actual practice with complete success,is the material known as Lucite, which is a brand of methyl methacrylate made by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., Plastics Department, Arlington, New Jersey. This material is easily molded and machined, and it provides a sufficiently hard and durable body which is highlytransparent.

Whether made in one piece or in two, the external surface of the body, designated generally I in Fig. 1, is shaped and configured in the form of a plurality of` machine parts and elements. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the exterior of the body I is formed in the shape of a chamfer at 2, an external thread at 3, an external undercut at 4, a knurl at 5, a boss at 6, a cam at 'I with its lobe at 8, a radius at 9, a journal at IIJ, a fillet at II, a flange at I2, a Woodruff keyway at I3 and a series of splines at I4.

Internally, the body is bored, preferably throughout A.its Whole `length `and..more.or less axially, l 'and *the bore is shaped and configured variously along the different portions of -its length in the shape of machine parts and elements which are normally found on the inside of a mechanical element. Thus, in the l'illustrated embodiment of the invention, the v.bore counterbored at I6 and provided with a taper at I1. Into one end of this ytaper-aneccentric hole or bore I8 leads, and it is provided with an internal undercut I9. The bore ends at the left hand side of the body as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 in an internal thread v20, a countersink 2l vand a spotface or seat 272.

Eachofthe 'parts named, and any others which maybe provided in addition to br substitution fnthern, may have associated with it some in- 'dic'ia denominating it, as shown at rL, which may takeftheform of the name of the part fully fspel-le'd'out'or of 'soine key 'which can be interpreted` from a coole. Thus the student will have parency of the material permits the internal structure to be clearly viewed fromY the outside ofthe body, and of course the joined halves present "the appearance of a body in one piece, so that"the student can vunderstand and appreciate the'relation between the external surfaces 'i the y.body 'and` its 'internal shapes andjpa'rts.

"Itis believed that .the structure, uses-"and v`principal advantages ofl the educational device, provided by the present invention will, lfrom'the foregoing description of a certain preferred embodimentbe suiciently clear to those skilled in 4"the art. Itis to be understood that the details and "specific karrangements and relations of the .parts are subject to variation and differences of 'design and selection, and that not all of the sevleral features .need be used in the particular combinations and 'relations shown.

claim:

1. As ahvarticle of manufacture,v an educational device comprising a pair of .members 4of transparent material having substantially similar, V.g'eiierally plane' surfaces, 'dowel means holdingthe vmembers separably together with said surfaces in mutual engagement, said surfaces and the outer surfaces of the members being coni'gured .in the shapes of machine parts for thepurpose of illustrating the shapes "of s'uch parts" for 'the `benefit ldf a student, "and indicia borne by the surfaces denominating the several machine parts, the indicia borne by the rst named surfaces and the machine parts in which said surfaces are configured being visible from said outer surfaces, through the'transparent mater-ial of themembers.

2. As an article of manufacture, an educa- 'tional device comprising a pair ofmembers of transparent Amaterial having substantially simiflar;rgerier'aillyf'plane mating-surfaces, and means holding the members separably together With said surfaces in mutual engagement, said surfaces and the outer surfaces of the members being Vcongrired in the shapes of machine parts for `.the purpose of illustrating the shapes of such parts 'fon'the benefit of a student7 and the mac'hineppants'in-which said mating surfaces are configured being visible from said outer surfaces,

"through the transparent material or the memM bers.

1B. "Ihedevice claimedinclaim 2,' in'which each member `is substantially' 'semi-cylindrical and the mating--fsurface'thereof vis configured to .provide the device composed of the 'engaged members witha substantialiyiaxial bore having a counterbore, :a taper, lan eccentric hole,` an undercut, an internal thread,-a countersink and alspotface.

'-4. The-.device claimed inf claim A'2,'i'n which each member is `-l's'libstantially semi-'cylindrical and the outer surface thereof 'is vdistorted "from cylindrical curvature so as'"tof'be'con'guredto provide the device composed of the-engaged members with the shapes of acha-mfer, anfexternalthread, anundercu't, a boss, ya knu'rI, a 'carngfa journal, a Ilet, 4a 'flangega Woodri keyway and arf-spline.

"fThe 'deviceclaimed' in claimlz, in which 'each 'member `is AV'substa'n'tially sem'hcylindrical and :the AmatingV surface "thereof'is configured' to provide the device composed of the engaged members with -a substantialyax'ial bore having a counterbore, af taper, an eccentric hole, an undercut,'-a-n internal thread, a countersink and a spotface, kand the vouter surface of each member is 'distortedffrom cylindrical vcurvature so `asf vto be conigured to provide the 'devicecomposed of the engaged Vmembers with the vshapes of acham- Ter, anexternal "thread, an undercut, a-iboss, a knurl, vaca'm,"afjournal, a vllet, a flange, a Woodruff keyway and' a'vspline.

OLLIE W. PIHLLIPS.

REFERENCES crrnp Thefffollowing references are of record in the file. of .this patent:

UiNTED .STATES PATENTS Working Models, Series No. 3, Model 3, 1922. 

